A Visit From Beast Boy
by lyannastarkers
Summary: 'Twas the night before Christmas, and Raven supposed peace and quiet was too much to ask in Titans Tower anyways.


' _Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Tower_

 _Just one creature was moving, at this late hour._

When the clock struck midnight, a litany of alarm clocks went off in Titans Tower. Amidst the cacophony of beeps and squawks and chimes, a certain Titan opened her eyes from meditation, uncrossed her legs, and stood up. Raven silently slid her door open, and began the descent to the living room. Passing by her teammates' bedrooms, she marveled, not for the first time, at how they felt so comfortable around each other they slept with their doors open. Although Raven tried her hardest to avert her eyes from viewing her teammates in their most personal states, she couldn't ignore everything.

From Beast Boy's room, obnoxious snoring. She turned up her nose, and quickly hurried past. Soft music floated over to Raven, who recognized it as the music Starfire fell asleep to every night. The Tamaranian melodies juxtaposing angelic violins with primal drums followed the Azatharian. Floating past Cyborg's room, the pixelated _beeps!_ of his system charging added a beat to Star's music. In Robin's room, a clackity-clack of a keyboard behind a closed door reminded Raven that she was not the only one that sleep eluded (nor the only one who hid behind a closed door). But the Boy Wonder would not bother her, nor she him. Their nights would be parallel lines, only coplanar, never intersecting.

 _Security cameras were programmed with care_

 _In hopes that Control Freak would not be there_

She expertly navigated the tinsel and holly Starfire and Beast Boy had insistently added to the tower, grudgingly acknowledging they did give the Tower a feeling of cheer and goodwill—And that they did provide cover for the security cameras Cyborg had, at long last, installed. Her arm caught a few jingle bells, and she froze as their joyful sound echoed through the halls. After a few seconds of silence confirmed no one had heard, she moved on. She didn't want anyone bothering her tonight.

 _The Titans were snuggled all nice in their beds,_

 _Fighting demons and monsters inside their heads_

Raven walked to the refrigerator, reaching to the back. She pulled out a pint of Ben & Jerry's and took it to the couch. Placing it on the sofa, she clicked the remote, going to the rarely-used DVR. Commercial for a capsule to change your life, make you happier/richer/prettier/skinnier/smarter. She dug her spoon in, reveling in the rawness of eating directly from the carton. The TV lit up with her selection, and she tucked her feet under her, ready to watch.

 _And Star in her blankets, and Cyborg asleep,_

 _One Titan woke up, not making a peep._

A green changeling bolted to a sitting position, sweat dripping down his face. Reliving the nightmare constantly took a toll on Garfield Logan. _His parents, screaming, calling out for him. The boat capsizing, and their loving faces being swallowed by pounding waves. Dying, dying, bone to bone, blood to blood, ashes to ashes._ He climbed out of bed, putting his hands on his knees. He focused on his breath- in and out, in and out.

 _But the empath felt such an emotional clatter,_

 _She got up from the couch to see what was the matter._

Raven was at peace, the usual day-to-day chatter of emotions in her head absent. No Starfire worrying about her boyfriend's absences, no stress radiating from Robin. She was left alone with her thoughts- until a rogue emotion brushed the peripherals of her mind.

Raven frowned. She was used to ignoring mental cries for help in the dead of the night. Nightmares weren't exactly a rare occurrence for the team. But this particular scream was worse than she was used to. Sighing a little, she got to her feet, ready to be a shoulder to cry on.

 _Away from the darkness he flew like a flash,_

 _Down the stairs, where he landed with quite the crash_

Before Raven could move, a sweaty bedraggled Beast Boy tumbled down to the foot of the stairs. Before she could react, he scrambled to his feet, embarrassed eyes pleading with her not to mention it.

"…Hi," she nodded slowly.

"…Hi." Beast Boy's eyes darted around the room, clearly not having expected to see her. "I just…uh... water. I came down for water."

"You don't have to explain. I don't care," Raven rolled her eyes, flopping down on the sofa rather ungracefully.

Beast Boy continued on behind her. The sound of the faucet seemed unbearably loud. Raven fidgeted with the hem on her hoodie. Finally, Beast Boy shut the tap, and Raven waited for him to leave.

Instead, his footsteps came towards her. "Bruce Willis?"

Taken aback, she snapped "excuse me?"

"…Bruce Willis. You're watching Die Hard."

"Oh," Raven agreed. She had almost forgotten her movie, paused on the screen. "I am."

He cautiously sat down on the other end of the couch. "Not really in the Christmas mood then?"

"On the contrary. I consider this a Christmas movie."

"Hey, I guess _Love Actually_ is too sappy for you," he laughed, only slightly forced. Raven glanced at him from the corner of her eye, only to find him staring back. "Do you mind if I stay? For a little bit?"

Raven blinked, breaking the eye contact. "I can't stop you. It's a public space." Beast Boy nodded. He understood it was her way of saying _Of course. I'd like you to_. In lieu of speaking, she unpaused the movie. She unfurled her legs from under her, and he put his arms behind his head. And Raven wondered when he began to understand her way of saying things.

 _So knowing our heroes would both be all right_

 _Happy Christmas to all, and to all, a good night._


End file.
